Last Week in AI: Google’s PaLM 2 under EU investigation

OpenAI has announced and launched its latest AI model, GPT-4o1. This new model has improved reasoning capabilities, which is one of the reasons why it takes an amount of time to respond, which is equivalent to how long it takes a human to think through a problem before answering. The model is geared toward uses in physics, chemistry, biology, and coding and has performed significantly better than its predecessors in several benchmark tests in those areas. OpenAI says GPT-4o1 is also safer than previous models; when they put GPT-4o1 through a user safety test, the new model scored 89 out of 100, while its predecessor, GPT-4o, only scored 13 out of 100.

However, this new model doesn’t come without limitations. Although it is more advanced and secure, it cannot browse the web or work off, from, or with user-uploaded images.

The model is currently available to ChatGPT subscribers and API users. With this new model comes many new possibilities that we will likely see come to fruition in user creations. But one thing I wonder is, why does the AI model replicate human thinking in terms of the time it takes to respond? I am sure it comes with benefits and also introduces an element of realism to artificial intelligence, but most people are not using AI chatbots to access a counterpart that resembles a human; most are using it to access accurate information quickly.

When I gave GPT-4o1 a try, it took 39 seconds to think through the prompt I gave it, but it did not even give me an output! I had to prompt the model a second time to get the output I desired, and then it took 36 more seconds to think—1 minute and 5 seconds total—to give me a response for a set of fairly simple instructions.

OpenAI is not losing a customer in me for that wait time, and I understand the trade-off of having better information even though it delivered at a slower rate. Still, the task I gave the chatbot was fairly simple, and the one-minute five-second wait time felt long. That being said, I can’t imagine how long the chatbot takes to think and respond when given a task that is actually complex.

Google’s PaLM 2 AI model under EU investigation for GDPR Compliance

Another tech giant, Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL), is under scrutiny in the EU for its AI model. Ireland’s Data Protection Commission has opened an inquiry into Google’s Pathway Language Model 2 (PaLM 2) regarding how the model handles personal data. Since Google’s European headquarters are located in Dublin, the Irish watchdog acts as the company’s lead regulator for the bloc’s privacy rulebook, which is why they were the entity to raise the issue. The inquiry will inspect whether Google breached its obligations under GDPR regarding how it processed citizens’ personal data in the EU. 

Tech giants facing obstacles when operating in other countries is not a new issue; previously, Meta (NASDAQ: META) had to suspend the use of its AI model in Brazil for similar privacy concerns that the Brazilian regulator had about its AI models. In many cases, it’s an uphill battle for these AI companies to operate in many places worldwide. Data, including personal data, is crucial when it comes to training and optimizing AI models. At the same time, many countries have strict rules regarding how a company can use consumer data, which tend to be in stark contrast to how the tech giants would like to use the data in relation to their models.

Apple’s iPhone 16 and ‘Apple Intelligence’

At Apple’s GlowTime event, it showcased the latest version of the iPhone—the iPhone 16—and the AI features that will be coming to the phone. The company also emphasized that these new phones have a new chip at their core that specializes in handling the AI operations that the company has deemed “Apple Intelligence.”

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) describes Apple Intelligence as “the personal intelligence system that helps you communicate, work, and express yourself. It combines generative models with your personal context to deliver intelligence that is most useful and relevant to you.”

These Apple Intelligence features will be available on all iPhone 16 models, the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max, as well as iPads and Macs. But more importantly, Apple Intelligence is software-dependent and will only be available on iOS 18.1, which is expected to launch in October.

The upcoming AI features include improvements to Siri, custom writing tools, photo and video enhancement tools, natural language processing features, and more—but is AI branding really moving the needle for consumers?

Recent research has shown that branding a product as an “AI Product” and highlighting its various artificial intelligence features actually deters consumers from buying a product more than it encourages them to buy it. Although Apple’s new features will be useful to some, I can’t imagine them being substantial to the point that mobile phone users feel like they absolutely need to drop their current phone to buy the latest Apple iPhone, thanks to Apple Intelligence.

OpenAI pursues $150 billion valuation with new $6.5 billion funding round

OpenAI is looking to raise $6.5 billion at a $150 billion valuation, a significant increase from its $86 billion valuation reported earlier in the year. The funding round will reportedly be led by Thrive Capital, an investor of OpenAI in previous rounds, while other reported investors include Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Apple, and Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), all are companies which are either currently an OpenAI partner or investor. On top of the new capital raise, OpenAI is looking to secure another $5 billion in debt from banks through a revolving credit facility.

It should not come as a surprise that OpenAI needs to raise money; earlier this year, it was revealed that the company was on track to lose $5 billion. Despite being the industry leader in generative AI, the company is still far from turning a profit—a problem that plagues the artificial intelligence industry.

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